This invention relates to a method for mechanically unpacking contents from envelopes, in which an envelope is at least weakened along three of its folding edges, a first panel of the envelope is folded over relative to a second panel thereof about the fourth of the folding edges, the contents are mechanically separated from the envelope and are delivered, and the envelope is discharged separately from its contents along a discharge track.
Such a method is known for instance from French patent specification 346 891. In this known method, the contents of an envelope are delivered in one direction and, directly after the contents have been separated from the envelope, the envelope is discharged in the opposite direction to a suitable recipient.
An advantage of this known method is that the contents need not be removed from the envelope or off the envelope by hand. This is for instance necessary in methods as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,893,454, 3,238,926 or 3,116,718, European patent application 0 048 485 or French patent application 2 135 481, where the envelope with the contents disposed therein or thereon is passed over a belt or through a channel and the contents must be taken from or off the envelope by hand.
Because it is no longer necessary to separate the contents from the envelope by hand, in each case a maximum amount of time is available for inspecting and, if necessary, arranging and sorting the contents. Moreover, as a consequence, relatively little concentration is required in picking up the contents, which prevents fatigue. The processing of mail can therefore be carried out at a relatively high speed.
A drawback of this known method, however, is that when a part of the contents of an envelope or the contents as a whole are discharged along with the envelope, the contents will end up in the recipient referred to and it is laborious to remove the contents from the recipient. The contents may for instance be discharged along with the associated envelope because the contents and the envelope cling to each other.
A further drawback of this known method is that when it appears, after inspection of the contents, that information must be added to the envelope, for instance because the address of the sender is only specified on the envelope, it is laborious to retrieve the discharged envelope and, moreover, the envelope is difficult to retrieve because it has already ended up in the recipient referred to.
The object of the invention is to provide a method in which the envelope is automatically separated from its contents, but in which an envelope that has been separated from its contents and any such parts of the contents as have been carried along with the envelope can be simply and quickly retrieved.